Conventional apparatuses for removal of water vapor from the air include electric dehumidifying air conditioners that draw in air, cool it with an evaporator to cause condensation, separate the moisture, and then immediately cool the condenser. Another method employs hygroscopic agents for chemical dehumidification of small spaces such as drawer chests and housings.
Electric dehumidifying air conditioners of the prior art require fans or pumps to draw in the moisture-containing air and cool it, and these have increased the sizes of apparatuses, thus adding to production costs. Because conventional electric dehumidifying air conditioners also require operation of the fans or pumps in order to maintain the dry state of the dehumidified spaces, their operating costs are higher.
Chemical dehumidification methods employing hygroscopic agents have limits to their moisture uptake volumes, and require exchange or regeneration of the hygroscopic agents, which also increases costs.
It is an object of the present invention, as a technical means aimed at solving the aforementioned problems of the prior art, to provide a water vapor movement control apparatus with a small size and with very low power consumption, capable of maintaining unidirectional movement of water vapor between two spaces with different humidity levels over long periods of time, in order to dehumidify or humidify one of the spaces while minimizing operation costs.